John Stephen Gerrard Jeffreys (22 April 1950 – 17 September 2018) was a British

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

and playwriting teacher. He wrote original plays, films and play adaptations and also worked as translator. Jeffreys is best known for his play ''The Libertine'' about the

Earl of Rochester Earl of Rochester is a title that was created twice in the Peerage of England. The first creation came in 1652 in favour of the Royalist soldier Henry Wilmot, 2nd Viscount Wilmot. He had already been created Baron Wilmot, of Adderbury in the Co ...

, which was performed at the

Steppenwolf Theatre Company Steppenwolf Theatre Company is a Chicago theatre company founded in 1974 by Terry Kinney, Jeff Perry, and Gary Sinise in the Unitarian church on Half Day Road in Deerfield, Illinois and is now located in Chicago's Lincoln Park neighborhood on ...

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

with

John Malkovich John Malkovich (born December 9, 1953) is an American actor. He is the recipient of several accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award, in addition to nominations for two Academy Awards, a British Academy Film Award, two Screen Actors Guild Aw ...

as Rochester, and later adapted into a

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

starring Malkovich and

Johnny Depp John Christopher Depp II (born June 9, 1963) is an American actor and musician. He is the recipient of multiple accolades, including a Golden Globe Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award, in addition to nominations for three Academy Award ...

Career

Jeffreys attended the

University of Southampton , mottoeng = The Heights Yield to Endeavour , type = Public research university , established = 1862 – Hartley Institution1902 – Hartley University College1913 – Southampton University Coll ...

, graduating with an English literature degree in 1972. In 1975 he started working at the

Royal Court Theatre The Royal Court Theatre, at different times known as the Court Theatre, the New Chelsea Theatre, and the Belgravia Theatre, is a non-commercial West End theatre in Sloane Square, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, Englan ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

as assistant electrician. He began writing plays about the same time. His first play, ''Like Dolls or Angels'' (1977), won the Sunday Times Playwriting Award at the

National Student Drama Festival The UK based National Student Drama Festival (NSDF) was founded in 1956 with the purpose of creating new art, new artists and new communities. It also runs a charity aimed at empowering young artists. The NSDF is targeted towards people age ...

. He helped set up the touring company Pocket Theatre Cumbria, for which he wrote several plays. His 1982 adaptation of ''Hard Times'' for four actors was staged all over England and the United States. Between 1987 and 1989 he was Arts Council

writer-in-residence Artist-in-residence, or artist residencies, encompass a wide spectrum of artistic programs which involve a collaboration between artists and hosting organisations, institutions, or communities. They are programs which provide artists with space a ...

for the

touring theatre Touring theatre is independent travelling theatre that is presented at a different location in each city. A touring theatre is produced by a theater company, called the producing entity, often based in one location, and sold, as a show, by a bookin ...

company

Paines Plough Paines Plough is a touring theatre company founded in 1974 by writer David Pownall and director John Adams. The company specialises exclusively in commissioning and producing new plays and helping playwrights develop their craft. Over the past ...

. His breakthrough as playwright was in 1989 when his play ''Valued Friends'' at the

Hampstead Theatre Hampstead Theatre is a theatre in South Hampstead in the London Borough of Camden. It specialises in commissioning and producing new writing, supporting and developing the work of new writers. Roxana Silbert has been the artistic director since ...

in London won the

Evening Standard Theatre Award The ''Evening Standard'' Theatre Awards, established in 1955, are the oldest theatrical awards ceremony in the United Kingdom. They are presented annually for outstanding achievements in London Theatre, and are organised by the ''Evening Standa ...

and

Critics' Circle Theatre Award The Critics' Circle Theatre Awards, originally called ''Drama'' Theatre Awards up to 1990, are British theatrical awards presented annually for the closing year's theatrical achievements. The winners, from theatre throughout the United Kingdom, ar ...

for Most Promising Playwright. It was based on his experience sharing a basement flat in London's Earls Court with three others who were also working in theatre. Starting in 1994, he worked as Literary Associate for the

for eleven years, contributing to the development of plays such as ''

Mojo Mojo may refer to: * Mojo (African-American culture), a magical charm bag used in voodoo Arts, entertainment and media Film and television * MOJO HD, an American television network * ''Mojo'' (play), by Jez Butterworth, made into a 1997 film * ' ...

'' by

Jez Butterworth Jeremy "Jez" Butterworth (born March 1969) is an English playwright, screenwriter, and film director. He has written screenplays in collaboration with his brothers, John-Henry and Tom. Life and career In March 1969, Butterworth was born in Lo ...

. Here, he also gave playwriting workshops, which were attended by playwrights such as

Simon Stephens Simon Stephens (born 6 February 1971) is an English playwright and Professor of Scriptwriting at Manchester Metropolitan University. Having taught on the Young Writers' Programme at the Royal Court Theatre for many years, he is now an Artistic ...

, Roy Williams and

April De Angelis April De Angelis (born April 1960) is an English dramatist of part Sicilian descent. She is a graduate of Sussex University who trained at East 15 Acting School. De Angelis began her career in the 1980s as an actress with the Monstrous Regimen ...

. Stephens later said about Jeffreys: "Stephen Jeffreys is as important a teacher as he is brilliant a writer. Without him, I wouldn't have been able to write the plays that I have written." Jeffreys was commissioned to write a book on playwriting based on his workshops, which was not yet finished when he died in 2018. Completed by his friends, colleagues and widow

Annabel Arden Annabel Arden (born 11 November 1959) is a British actress, theatre and opera director, and one of the co-founders of Théâtre de Complicite. Early life and education Arden was born in London in 1959 and studied English from 1978 to 1981 at Ne ...

, the book was published posthumously in 2019 by

Nick Hern Books Nick Hern Books is a London-based independent specialist publisher of plays, theatre books and screenplays. The company was founded by the former Methuen drama editor Nicholas Hern in 1988. History Nick Hern Books was founded in June 1988,Sara ...

. Besides plays, Jeffreys wrote the films '' The Libertine'' and '' Diana''. He co-authored the

Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developme ...

musical ''Backbeat'' and translated

The Magic Flute ''The Magic Flute'' (German: , ), K. 620, is an opera in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. The work is in the form of a ''Singspiel'', a popular form during the time it was written that inclu ...

for the

English National Opera English National Opera (ENO) is an opera company based in London, resident at the London Coliseum in St Martin's Lane. It is one of the two principal opera companies in London, along with The Royal Opera. ENO's productions are sung in English ...

Written works

His plays and screenplays include: * ''Like Dolls or Angels'' (1977) * ''Hard Times'' (1982), a stage adaptation of the novel '' Hard Times'' by

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian e ...

* ''Carmen 1936'' (1984) * ''Valued Friends'' (1990) * ''The Clink'' (1990) * ''A Jovial Crew'' (1992), an adaptation of

Richard Brome Richard Brome ; (c. 1590? – 24 September 1652) was an English dramatist of the Caroline era. Life Virtually nothing is known about Brome's private life. Repeated allusions in contemporary works, like Ben Jonson's '' Bartholomew Fair'', in ...

's play ''

A Jovial Crew ''A Jovial Crew, or the Merry Beggars'' is a Caroline era stage play, a comedy written by Richard Brome. First staged in 1641 or 1642 and first published in 1652, it is generally ranked as one of Brome's best plays, and one of the best comedie ...

'' * ''A Going Concern'' (1993) * ''The Libertine'' (1994), later made into a

with

(2004) * ''I Just Stopped By to See the Man'' (2000) * ''Interruptions'' (2001) * ''Lost Land'' (2005). * ''The Convict's Opera'' (2008), a reworking of ''

The Beggar's Opera ''The Beggar's Opera'' is a ballad opera in three acts written in 1728 by John Gay with music arranged by Johann Christoph Pepusch. It is one of the watershed plays in Augustan drama and is the only example of the once thriving genre of satiri ...

'' by John Gay, jointly commissioned by

Out of Joint theatre company Out of Joint is a British and international touring theatre company based in London. It specialises in the commissioning and production of new writing, interspersed with occasional revivals and classic productions. It was founded in 1993 by direct ...

and Sydney Theatre Company. * ''Backbeat'' (2011), co-written with

Iain Softley Iain Declan Softley (born 28 October 1956) is an England, English film director, producer, and screenwriter. His films include Backbeat (film), ''Backbeat,'' ''Hackers (film), Hackers, The Wings of the Dove (1997 film), The Wings of the Dove'', ...

) * '' Diana'' (2013, screenplay based on Kate Snell's 2001 book, ''Diana: Her Last Love'' about

Diana, Princess of Wales Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997) was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of King Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William and Harry. Her ac ...

)

Awards

* Sunday Times Playwriting Award (1977) for ''Like Dolls or Angels'' at the

* Fringe First award (1984) for ''Carmen 1936'' at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival *

and Critics Circle Theatre Award for Most Promising Playwright (1989).

Personal life

He was married to theatre and opera director

References

External links